The present invention relates to a butterlike composition and method of manufacturing same, and more particularly, to a butterlike composition of natural, unmodified vegetable oil and a nutritional fiber. Specifically, the present invention concerns a novel technology for vegetable oil solidification, which preserves the oil""s quality, its original molecular structure and composition, its biological characteristics and its nutritional value, by solidifying the oil with a nutritional fiber.
Butterlike substances are soft whitish or yellowish fatty solids processed for cooking, frying and for table use as spreads. Example include butter which is a soft whitish or yellowish fatty solid that separates from milk or cream when it is churned, and margarine which is made of refined vegetable oils which undergo chemical solidification (i.e., hydrogenation, saturation) and/or blended sometimes with animal fats and emulsified usually with water or milk.
The solid characteristic of many of the prior art butterlike substances results from the high percentage of saturated fatty acids contained therein. According to the prior art, solidification is achieved either by purification, as is the case for butter, or by hydrogenation or mixing with saturated fatty acids, as is the case for types of margarine. In both cases, however, the make-up of the oils employed, i.e., the chemical structure and/or composition are modified.
A large body of information indicates that daily consumption of saturated fatty acids has a bad influence of human health, especially due to the rise in blood cholesterol levels inflicted thereby and the possible development of cardiovascular diseases, arteriosclerosis and gallstones. In addition, butter itself includes high percentage of cholesterol which by itself increases the chances of developing such diseases.
Margarine, on the other hand, which also includes relatively high levels of saturated fat, is in most cases the product of catalyzed hydrogenation, which introduces trans fatty acids therein, which were shown to cause membrane alterations which may lead to development of cancer. Furthermore, during hydrogenation the chemical make-up of the vegetable oil employed for the production of margarine changes, and as a result, beneficiary influences of such make-up on human health is lost.
Vegetable oils, especially olive oil, are low in saturated fatty acids. Indeed, many studies have shown that olive oil consumption as a major source of fatty acids reduces blood cholesterol levels in patients suffering from high blood cholesterol (e.g., cholestoremia). It was further shown that olive oil consumption lowers the light density lipoprotein/high density lipoprotein (LDL/HDL) ratio in the blood, i.e., it decreases the blood level of xe2x80x9cbadxe2x80x9d cholesterol and thereby lowers the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. It is therefore not surprising that some physicians refer to olive oil as a medicament. Other vegetable oils are also known to have beneficiary effects on human health.
Consumption of nutritional fibers is known to reduce blood cholesterol, to assist in digestion and to lower the chances of developing intestine and colon cancers.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a butterlike composition devoid of the bad influences associated with butter and/or margarine consumption and which enjoys the benefits of consuming unmodified vegetable oil and a nutritional fiber. In addition, it would be advantageous to have a butterlike composition that further contains a dietary supplement and enjoys the benefit of promoting healthy cholesterol.
According to the present invention there is provided butterlike composition comprising a solidified emulsion of at least one vegetable oil, water and at least one hydrocolloid which is a fiber, the composition having butterlike properties. In one aspect, the fiber serves as a solidifying, gelating or thickening agent. According to a preferred embodiment, the butterlike composition comprises at least about 28% weight percent fiber. According to certain embodiments, the butterlike composition comprises about 18-60 weight percent fiber, preferably about 20-40 weight percent fiber, more preferably about 20-30 weight percent fiber. According to yet another preferred embodiment, the butterlike composition comprises about 36 weight percent fiber. According to still further features, in a preferred embodiment, the fiber is a nutritional fiber.
According to further features in preferred embodiments of the invention described below, the vegetable oil maintains its chemical make-up while in the composition.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments at least one vegetable oil maintains its chemical make-up while in the composition.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the butterlike composition further comprises at least one substance selected from the group consisting of emulsifier, stabilizer, flavor, preservative, colorant, acid and salt.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the butterlike composition further comprises at least one dietary supplement. In a highly preferred embodiment, the dietary supplement is red yeast.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the vegetable oil is selected from the group consisting of olive oil, cocoa oil, sunflower seed oil, soybean oil, corn oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, coconut oil and palm oil.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments at least one vegetable oil is a liquid oil at ambient temperature.
As indicated above, in one aspect, the fiber serves as a hydrocolloid in the composition and method of the invention. Hydrocolloids are gelating agents which when present in low amounts act as emulsifiers or stabilizers and when present in high amounts act as thickeners or solidifying agents. The threshold amount for each mode of action depends on the particular hydrocolloid and the particular chemical environment in which it is present. Thus, many emulsifiers, stabilizers and thickeners are hydrocolloids. However, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, there are certain emulsifiers, stabilizers and thickeners that do not function as gelating agents, and therefore are not hydrocolloids. One such example is the emulsifier lecithin.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the hydrocolloid and stabilizer are each independently selected from the group consisting of natural seaweed extracts, natural seed gums, natural plant exudates, natural fruit extracts, animals skin and bone extracts, bio-synthetic gums, starches and fibers. According to the present invention, a fiber is most optimal for use as a thickening or solidifying agent, whereas the other classes of hydrocolloids are better suited for use as emulsifiers and/or stabilizing agents.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments (a) the natural seaweed extract is independently selected from the group consisting of carrageenan, alginates, agar, agarose, fucellan and xanthan gum; (b) the natural seed gum is independently selected from the group consisting of guar gum, locust bean gum, tara gum, tamarind gum and psillium gum; (c) the natural plant exudate is independently selected from the group consisting of gum arabic, tragacanth, karaya and ghatti; (d) the natural fruit extract is independently selected from the group consisting of low and high methoxyl pectins; (e) the animal skin and bone extract is independently selected from the group consisting of gelatin A and B and hydrolyzed gelatin; (f) the bio-synthetic gum is independently selected from the group consisting of xanthan, gellan, curdian and pullulan; (g) the starch is independently selected from the group consisting of natural starch and chemically, physically and enzymatically modified starch; whereas (h) the fiber is independently selected from the group consisting of alpha cellulose, CMC, HPC, HPMG, MC, microcrystalline cellulose and inulin.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the fiber is a nutritional fiber.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the nutritional fiber is inulin.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the inulin is selected from the group consisting of instant gelating inulin and long chain inulin.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the flavor is independently selected from the group consisting of butter flavor, butter vanilla flavor, olive flavor, cocoa or chocolate flavor, roasted mushroom flavor, broccoli flavor, celery flavor, grilled eggplant flavor, asparagus flavor, green bell pepper flavor, raw carrot flavor, fried onion flavor, roasted garlic flavor or artichoke flavor, the preservative is independently selected from the group consisting of potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, lactic acid and citric acid, the colorant is independently selected from the group consisting of carotenoids, riboflavin, corcumin, beet powder, red color MN and spinach oleoresin, the acid is independently selected from the group consisting of citric acid, glucono delta lactone, whereas the salt is independently selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride and potassium chloride.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the emulsifier is selected from the group consisting of lecithin and sucrose stearate.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the butterlike composition comprises about 5-30 weight percent fat, less than 5 weight percent saturated fat and ingredients providing 50-250 Calories per 100 grams.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the butterlike composition comprises about 15-25 weight percent oil and 20-40 weight percent fiber, more preferably about 20-30 weight percent fiber.
Further according to the present invention there is provided a method of preparing a butterlike composition as described above, the method comprising the steps of (a) mixing at least one vegetable oil with at least one emulsifier for obtaining an oil-emulsifier mixture; (b) while mixing the oil-emulsifier mixture, adding water to the oil-emulsifier mixture at a rate permitting formation of emulsion; (c) while mixing the emulsion, adding an emulsion stabilizer to the emulsion for obtaining a stabilized emulsion; (d) while mixing the stabilized emulsion, adding to the stabilized emulsion a fiber for obtaining a fiber containing emulsion; and (e) pouring the fiber containing emulsion into molds and allowing the fiber containing emulsion to solidify, thereby obtaining the butterlike composition.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments steps (a) through (e) are executed at ambient temperature.
According to still further features in the described preferred embodiments the vegetable oil maintains its chemical make-up throughout step (a) to (e).
Further according to the present invention there is provided an alternative method of preparing a butterlike composition as described above, the method comprising the steps of (a) mixing at least one fiber with water; (b) while mixing, slowly raising the temperature until the fiber is dissolved or dispersed; (c) while mixing, slowly adding at least one vegetable oil together with at least one emulsifier to obtain a stabilized emulsion; (d) allowing the stabilized emulsion to cool while mixing to obtain a cooled emulsion; and (e) pouring the cooled emulsion of step (d) into molds and allowing the emulsion of step to solidify, thereby obtaining the butterlike composition. In a preferred embodiment, step (a) is executed at ambient temperature, i.e. at about 25xc2x0 C. In another preferred embodiment, the temperature in step (b) is raised to 90-100xc2x0 C. In yet another preferred embodiment, the emulsion of step (d) is cooled to 60-70xc2x0 C. Optionally, at least one substance selected from the group consisting of flavor, preservative, colorant, acid and salt is added. Preferably, at least one vegetable oil maintains its chemical make-up throughout steps (c) to (e).
It is an object of the present invention to provide a butterlike composition which is advantageous for human consumption when compared with prior art butterlike products, such as butter and margarine.
It is another object of the present invention to use unmodified olive oil in a butterlike composition because olive oil consumption has many advantages over the consumption of other oils or fats, including in decreasing blood cholesterol levels, reducing the LDL/HDL ratio and thereby reducing the likelihood of developing cardiovascular diseases associated with high blood cholesterol levels and LDL/HDL ratios.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a butterlike composition which is very low in fat and in Calorie content as compared with conventional butterlike products.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a butterlike composition which is, as compared with known solid fat based foods, exceptionally low in saturated fat, yet is still maintains its butterlike properties.
It is however another object of the present invention to provides a butterlike composition with very high content of nutritional fibers, which are known to have beneficiary effects on human health, including in reducing blood cholesterol levels, assisting in digestive processes, and reducing the chances of developing intestine and colon cancers.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an animal fat free butterlike composition devoid of harmful trans fatty acids, which are present in hydrogenated butterlike compositions such as margarine.
The present invention successfully addresses the shortcomings of the presently known configurations by providing a butterlike composition which is low in fat, calories and saturated fat, as compared with prior art products, and which includes unmodified fat derived from vegetable oils and a fiber, preferably a nutritional fiber, both of which are well known to be beneficiary to human health.